US Music Manager · United Kingdom
A US music manager for UK artists. A guide to breaking into America from Britain.
In short: a US music manager for UK artists runs the American side of a career for an artist based in the United Kingdom, next to the artist's home label and home management. UK artists know the industry model already: in Britain, as in America, the manager, the agent and the label are separate jobs. What changes is scale. America is a continent of separate radio markets and separate cities, and a UK success does not move across the Atlantic on its own. The clearest working model is the one K-pop used to break America: a US manager who designs the order of the campaign (TV, then radio, then collaborations, then arenas) while the home team keeps doing what it does at home. Eshy Gazit, the US managing partner for BTS during the group's American breakthrough and manager of Monsta X and Wonho, worked that model. His full record is on the international music manager page.
What a US music manager does for an international artist
- Designs the US plan and the order it runs in.
- Gets the artist on American television and works with the label on US radio.
- Sets up collaborations with American artists and producers.
- Negotiates US label, label services and distribution deals.
- Picks and leads the booking agency, the US publicist and the rest of the US team.
- Plans US touring once there is demand to sell.
- Works alongside the home label and home management, so the artist has one plan in two markets.
The order of a US campaign
The campaigns that worked did not start with a tour. They started with television. When BTS performed at the American Music Awards in November 2017, it came after an extended push into the US market that included national TV and US radio (Forbes). Television gives radio programmers a reason to add the song. Radio gives American artists a reason to collaborate. Collaborations bring a new audience. Ticket demand opens the arenas. The same order ran again with Monsta X from 2018.
For a UK artist the order holds, with one adjustment: British press and British radio do not open American doors by themselves. The US campaign starts again from American television and American radio, city by city, with the UK story as background rather than as the pitch.
Manager, agent, label: who does what in America
The manager runs the whole career and is paid a commission on the artist's income. The booking agency sells shows and is paid a commission on show income. The label invests in recordings and handles releases, marketing and radio promotion. A UK manager and a UK agent can keep their roles; a US campaign usually adds a US manager or US co-manager and a US agent who work in the American market every day. US radio is also different from UK radio: it is split into formats and regional stations rather than run by a few national networks, which is why the US side needs someone on the ground. The page on music management in the US and the UK covers how the two markets fit.
What a US manager checks first
Whether there is already demand for the artist in America. Not worldwide, America: US share of monthly listeners, the US cities where the artist streams most, US social engagement, US shows played and how they sold. One US number with a time frame says more than a page of global stats. The guide on how to pitch a US manager from abroad covers what to send, and what a US market-entry plan looks like shows the plan a manager builds from those numbers.
Questions UK artists ask
I already have a UK manager. Do I need a US one?
Often, yes, as a partner rather than a replacement. The UK manager keeps the career; the US manager runs the American side day to day and works to the same plan. The guide on manager vs booking agency covers who does what.
Do I need a visa to work in the US?
Yes. Performing in America takes a US work visa, usually an O-1 or a P-1 for performers, even for a short run of shows. A US campaign plans the visa before it books the first trip.
How much time in the US does it take?
Real time. A US campaign needs the artist in the country for TV, for radio station visits and for shows. A plan that cannot put the artist in America for weeks at a time is not yet a US plan.
Eshy Gazit's record
Eshy Gazit is a US-based international music manager. He was the US managing partner for BTS from 2016 to 2018, the years of the group's US breakthrough (Music Week), and has managed Monsta X since 2018 and Wonho since 2020. Billboard named him an International Power Player in 2021 and 2022. He is a partner at Maverick Management and the founder of EG Management, Intertwine Records and the marketing agency LUSIVEX. The step-by-step record is in the K-pop US breakthrough timeline, the international music manager page and the page on US management for international artists.
For the marketing side of a US release, LUSIVEX publishes guides on how to release music in the US as an international artist and how US radio promotion works.
Guides for artists from other markets
- US music manager for artists from Southeast Asia
- US music manager for artists from Australia
- US music manager for artists from Canada
- US music manager for artists from Nigeria
- US music manager for artists from South Africa
- US music manager for artists from India
Frequently asked questions
What is a US music manager for UK artists?
A US music manager for UK artists is a manager based in the United States who runs the American side of a career for an artist based in the United Kingdom. The manager works alongside the artist's home label and home management, and handles US television, US radio, collaborations with American artists, US label and distribution deals and tour planning, and picks and leads the booking agency and the PR team. The home label stays the home label; the US market is the manager's side.
Do UK artists need a US manager to break into America?
The US industry expects a US manager to call television bookers, radio programmers, promoters and labels and to make decisions on American time. A UK artist can release music in America without one, and many work with their UK manager alone at first, but a sustained US career has usually needed a US manager or co-manager working next to the UK team.
What is the order of a US campaign for an international artist?
The order Eshy Gazit used with BTS and with Monsta X was the same: US television first, then US radio, then collaborations with American artists, then arena shows. Television gives radio stations a reason to play the song, radio gives American artists a reason to collaborate, collaborations bring a new audience, and ticket demand opens the arenas.
When should an international artist look for a US manager?
When there is already real demand in America: US listeners, US fans, US social engagement, US shows that sell. The manager is the first person a US campaign needs, before a booking agency, because agencies sign on once there are shows to sell. The artist also has to be ready to spend real time in the US, on TV, at radio stations and on stage. How to pitch a US manager from abroad
How do I choose a US music manager as a UK artist?
Look for a record you can check: artists the manager has taken across a border into the US market, with charts, TV appearances and press coverage that link to their sources. Ask how the manager would split the work with your UK manager, who the manager works with on the agency and PR side, and how the US plan fits your UK and European release schedule.
Last reviewed November 2, 2026
Inquire about US management